EPOW Ecology Picture of the Week -- The Spider That Fishes

Explanation: Clinging to a pond lily leaf in a remote wetland in Kaibab National Forest of northern Arizona, USA, is this most interesting spider ... a fishing spider.

Similar to wolf spiders, fishing spiders sport eyes high on their cephalothorax (head-body segment), the better by which to spot their prey -- usually small insects, and only occasionally fish or tadpoles.

Fishing spiders do not spin webs, but use their silk to create a nursery web where their eggs hang, protected, until the hatch.

Notice the small hairs on the legs and body; these are used to trap air
bubbles by which they breath underwater.

Fishing spiders are usually seen hanging out on vegetation or rocks within or alongside streams and wetlands, as shown in this week's photos. They can also skim across the water surface like water striders, their bodies supported over the water by surface tension from their wide-spread legs.

As seen in this photo, some fishing spiders typically have a white lateral
line along the side of their body

EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week